Convocation of National Board of Examinations

Last Updated on November 27, 2018 by Bharat Saini

19th Convocation of National Board of Examinations was addressed by the Vice President of India, Shri M Venkaiah Naidu on September 21, 2018, where, 306 Doctors received Gold Medals in their respective specialty, 61 Medical Teachers were honoured for their exemplary work in the field of modern medicine and 20,534 degrees were conferred to Post Graduates Doctors.

National Board of Examinations (NBE), an autonomous body of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, which was setup in 1982 with the prime objective of conducting uniform and high standard examinations in the field modern medicine and provides trained manpower in the form of medical specialists to the country.

• NBE is credited with conducting maximum and largest number of examinations for Graduate and Post Graduate Doctors.
• NBE has been entrusted with task of conducting National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test – Post Graduate (NEET-PG) and NEET-SS which are the only examinations for admission to Broad and Super Specialty Medical courses respectively.
• NBE is also a nodal agency for conducting the licensing examination for Indian Citizens who have obtained their MBBS equivalent outside India.
• NBE has been providing more than 8000 specialists in modern medicine every year utilizing the existing infrastructure of Private and Government Hospitals.
• NBE has pioneered starting of Post Graduate courses in district hospitals of the country.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu today while addressing the participants advised that:

• Medical Scientists, Epidemiologists and Clinicians must continue their experiments with truth and extend the frontiers of scientific and medical knowledge.
• Doctors should always be observant and curious and develop intrinsic virtues of inquiry, exploration, analysis, discussion, patience, tolerance, humanism and an inclusive outlook, and said, “It is these qualities which shall take you far”.
• Doctors have an unprecedented opportunity to serve and be a part of inclusive growth that India is aiming for with sharp focus on cleanliness and affordable healthcare, and added, “We must find ways and means to ensure that every citizen benefits from the advancements in medicine.
• Doctors should serve in rural areas.

Ministers of State for Health and Family Welfare Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Smt Anupriya Patel, who were also present at the Convocation ceremony of NBE, highlighted following initiatives of their Ministry:

• Ayushman Bharat programme, aimed at making path breaking interventions to address health holistically, covering both prevention and health promotion components, will bring healthcare system closer to the homes of people through1.5 lakh Health and Wellness Centres to provide comprehensive primary health care, including that for non-communicable diseases and maternal and child health services.
• Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY) will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 23 September from Jharkhand and will cover over 10 crore poor and vulnerable families – more than 50 crore beneficiaries providing coverage up-to 5 lakh rupees per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
• Several steps have been taken on increasing the number of medical colleges, introduction of NEET at all levels to get rid of multiple entrance exams and to ensure greater transparency.